DuskRaider's 40K Nurgle - An Experiment in Flesh and Machine

[DuskRaider]

No problem, I just hope it helps others. 

[Chazzmos]

Thank you so much for all of your hard work!  I have used a lot of what you've done as inspiration for my own Death Guard: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/344499-chazzmos-40k-death-guard/

 

I love pretty much your whole style, the armour, the metal, the black.  Keep up the great work!

[DuskRaider]

Great work Chazzmos, I'm glad I could give inspiration!

 

Alright, so maybe it took me a little more than a day to finish the remaining Plague Marines and upload the pics, but here we are. I was hoping to get these done a lot faster, but between a bout of food poisoning (bad Chinese food, whodathunk?) and just feeling hobby drain it was a lot longer than I had expected. I started these guys before the Lord and last round of Blightlords, after all. 

 

I'm just glad they're finished. I'm still awaiting my Dragon Forge order so I can base these guys, so when that happens I'll probably retake photos. I'm also starting on a MASSIVE amount of Plaguebearers soon, to the tune of 90 plus the new Heralds, about 6 Plague Drones and some Nurgling swarms. Yeah, I'm going full on with my Daemon "allies" (now a proper army). With that being said, you'll see at the end of this post a WIP of my Spoilpox Scrivener. My biggest bugbear with the new Nurgle models is it seems they go from amazing to so close to amazing, but fall flat at the finish line. The Heralds in particular come to mind... when it comes to the Sloppity Bilepiper (Christ, I hate that name) I am of the opinion that a proper grimdark paintjob will greatly improve what I see as a derpy model, but the Scrivener... *sigh*. The majority of the model is actually really nice, until it comes to that giant scrotum of a mouth that inexplicably wraps around and sits on his shoulder. It looks like something you'd see in a Looney Tunes cartoon. No thanks. So I did a little modification and I hope it improves the model to fit the overall mood of my Nurgle forces. 

 

Enjoy!

 

Plague Surgeon

 

Melee Squad #2

 

Ranged Squad #4

 

Plague Brethren

 

Spoilpox Scrivener WIP

[Cryptix]

 

 

 

Tutorial One: Armour

We'll start off with the white armour (yes it's white, you subhuman Californian).

 

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/fd/fd736c26db2702aa5a3f8094ff53fcd7678844ee7f3ff121e13119787652f2e2.jpg

[DuskRaider]

 

[DuskRaider]

Nothing new per say, but I did manage to get more of my Death Guard based so I figured I'd share with everyone.

 

You'll notice only 2 Dreadnoughts and a single Bloat Drone are pictured. I want to avoid repeating bases in each unit, so at this time in currently waiting for a couple Dragon Forge orders to arrive. Unfortunately since the company is seeing a lengthy backlog, it may be a few months so... it is what it is and well worth the wait.

 

While basing these, I think I may actually redo Necrosius. I made the model before the Plague Marine box set was released so I worked with what was available to me. Coupled with the unfortunate side effect that the green plastic used on the Easy to Build kits can "stain" the paint schemes, it's unfortunately made my Necrosius stand out (and not in a good way). I'll have to think on it.

 

Anyhow, here's what I've got so far... the Champion pictured with the Ranged Squad (or what I could base of it) is from the Melee Squad, but as I said previously he's my favorite Champion I've created so he deserves a base. Otherwise, what you see is what you get.

 

[Guest]

Man, the paint schemes you use on your Nurgle Daemons always evoke a disgust reaction from me, you are ridiculously good at this.

[DuskRaider]

Thank you! If you like my Daemons, then I have some good news for you... With the exception of some tanks (and Poxwalkers, slowly converting those still) all of my Death Guard Models are finished, which means I will be focusing on my Nurgle Daemons... something to the tune of 60 more Plaguebearers, 6 Plague Drones, 6 more Nurgling Swarms, and more. I have quite an ambitious project ahead of me.

[Captain Mick]

Looks disguisting as its supposed to, great work.

[DuskRaider]

Today I'm sharing something that's not Nurgle related *gasp* *shock* *horror*!

 

I'm going to preface this with I am not a fan of this paint scheme, but my friend is and he's paying me so... here's what we have. At this point I think I've painted over 300 minis for this army, or at least it feels like it.

 

These three are the latest to be finished. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on this army and I that has me wicked excited.

 

 

This last picture has a story... last game I played, my friend sent the Haruspex into my horde of Poxwalkers since it's extremely nasty against troops. What should have been the beast making a quick snack of my Poxwalkers quickly reversed and Haruspex was on the zombie dinner menu that night. To celebrate such an ironic twist, I sent him this pic...

 

[Guest]

And the booming voice of Nurgle was heard by the Haruspex as the Poxwalkers closed into eat its flesh. "YOU DONE GOOFED"

[DuskRaider]

Haha, it was definitely interesting. In that game I had the intention of sending my two max units of Poxwalkers with Typhus and a Blightbringer into his Gant swarm and absorbing them, but along comes big ole snaggletooth there and we figured he's jist going to tap dance through the Walkers and eat them along the way, but he couldn't deal with them. Almost every wound they took they saved with DR and then they started wounding it, so I hung Typhus back and we just kept going to see what would happen. It took 4 rounds, one with him trying to retreat and the Zeds shambling him down, but the big bad was that night's roast beast. One of the more interesting outcomes we've had over the years.

 

So on a Death Guard note... I'm contemplating starting on a tank. I'm a bit wary since I'm not entirely sure what direction I'll go aesthetically, but if like to see what you folks think I should start with: Mk. IIb Land Raider or Deimos Predator? If probably see more game time with my Predator, but one cannot deny the awesomeness of a Land Raider.

Edited March 8, 2018 by DuskRaider

[Augustus b'Raass]

Fantastic! Thank you for the tutorial, DuskRaider! 

 

Those squads and characters are looking mighty wicked and are superbly inspiring to me. Thanks!

 

Also, I love that Tyrannid scheme. Be proud of it!

[DuskRaider]

Thanks Auggy, I appreciate it. As I said before, if the tutorials help anyone then it was worth it. 

 

As far as the Nids... it's a problem I have with all horde armies. I despise that you often sacrifice detail and quality for quantity, and while I do see that in a group they look decent; for instance the above game I described (it was odd knowing I painted every single model on the board  ); it still bothers me. It's the reason I sold my original Ork army and the reason my current iteration of Blood Axes haven't been expanded upon in a year or two. The other issue is what I'm currently running into now and one I dealt with painting the flesh on his Genestealer Cultists (I had this beautiful blue / purple / pale flesh color for the skin but he shot it down)... nothing really goes well with the coloration. I'm attempting to come up with a good color to wash the wings on his Flyrant and Harpies, but alas it seems anything I envision is just too much of a clash / contrast. He wants me to do them as I did Mortarion's wings, but I fear they may be TOO similar to the flesh color. Maybe not. 

[DuskRaider]

Well I'm happy to report that I solved the wing coloration issue and the Flying Hive Tyrant is officially done.

 

I wanted to compliment the flesh tone of the model while also having the wings stand out, so I went with a Averland Sunset and blended down into pure Rakarth, which I further blended with Brown Ink as I do the flesh itself. Everything else is standard for his Hive Fleet.

 

Let me know what you think.

 

[DuskRaider]

Okay folks, a bit of an update and then some advice needed...

 

First of all, I've begun work on the 40 Plaguebearers I currently have assembled (plus the Scrivener & Piper) which means I'm also working on a proper Flesh tutorial, as many have requested. Yay! Except for painting this many 'Bearers... boo.

 

Now onto the advice... I've been asked to paint up another batch of 'Nids for my friend's army. At times I do this for $$$, but occasionally (a lot) I do it for models in trade. Which brings me to my question... I'm contemplating requesting a Knight Titan in exchange for my services (plus the FW Nurgle Preacher set for my eventual 'Munda / INQ28 Nurgle War Band which will tie into my Death Guard). The idea would be to paint it up as House Makabius as a nod to their secondment to the XIVth by the Warmaster in the Heresy. So if I do this, should I start with a base GW Knight and convert or should I go with the FW Chaos Knight?

 

On the other hand, as you may have seen in my now dead INQ28 thread I have a Blood Axe Ork army. At this point it's not very large, I sold off my gigantic Ork army a couple years ago and opted to start anew with a WWI German theme, so I'm purchasing models via Kromlech (and heads through Spellcrow). With the (hopeful) release of the Ork codex this summer, I'm sorely tempted to bulk up the army a bit to prepare with the eventual goal of expanding it out to allied detachments of Astra Militarum / Abhuman (Beastmen and Ogryn) & Kroot. Right now I only have 30 Shoota Boyz, 10 Slugga Boyz, a squad of Tank Bustas, a Big Mek (Buzzgob, painted up as Deffskullz), a Pain Boss, and finally my Warboss, General Slagtoof Gitstompa. Originally the plan was the make this a new iteration of my old Blitzkrieg-style army with a ton of Trukkz but from what I hear it's not really viable anymore so it seems like Green Tide is preferable... this could be very expensive $$$ wise considering the price of the Kromlech models, but it may be well worth it. 

 

So what say you, frater? Invest in a Knight Titan or invest in my Blood Axe Orks?

[Augustus b'Raass]

Blood Axe Orks all the way. Knights are done by everybody and they're not particularly fun to play with. Your WWI themed Orks sound amazing though, and you'll have so much fun painting them. Orks. Orks all the way!

[DuskRaider]

I actually have most of the ones I own painted... or I should say HAD them painted, I just got done dumping them in Simple Green. I think I can do better than I had prior and the previous ones were primed with Incubi Darkness which I have no interest doing again. I'll have to think on it, Orks are a huge investment and I'm still lamenting the complete and utter garbage Burna Boyz are these days... I used to love cruising the board in an unassuming Battle Wagon filled with Burna Boyz and a Big Mek w/ KFF, burninating any Death Stars and expensive units along the way. 

 

I should also point out that a portion of the army will also be Deffskullz, probably the more traditional Orks (or at least appearance wise). I wanted an excuse to keep my old custom Battle Wagons and since they don't fit the theme of my Blood Axes, I figured I'll do another Klan so I can utilize them. I'll have to dig them out someday and snap pics of them, they're pretty cool even after all these years. 

 

I'll have to thnk on it... I was pretty dejected to hear that even Trukkz these days are too expensive to field effectively. I know GW wanted to make vehicles less appealing in favor of Troops, but I think they definitely went overboard with 8th. I miss my Armured Krumpanee 

 

Edit: Link to some of them prior to their SG bath: 

 

Blood Axe Orks (used for Shadow War)

Edited March 12, 2018 by DuskRaider

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Orkses.

[Augustus b'Raass]

 

 

Blood Axe Orks (used for Shadow War)

Photobucket fiasco...  :(

[DuskRaider]

Try downloading the add-on in my signature, you should be able to view the photos after that. They'll be repainted some time soon anyhow, and I do believe I will be expanding upon them shortly instead of grabbing a Knight. I'm having trouble deciding what kind of army I want to play though, especially since a horde army would get EXTREMELY expensive when using exclusively Kromlech models. 

[DuskRaider]

Well, it's here. Finally. You asked for it, I've created it. 

 

THE FLESH RECIPE

DUN DUN DUN!

 

Alright, but really... the pics may not be amazing, but I have faith in all of you to make the most of this and do your thing. Speaking of which, I prefer to call these more guidelines than anything. Feel free to swap out washes, skip steps, or whatever tickles your fancy. Make it your own. 

 

Step One

 

 

Technically I guess Step One would be to prime the model Corax White but I didn't take a pic of this because I have enough faith in you guys that you can handle this without an illustration. So we will start our Step One at basing the model Pallid Wych Flesh, as above.

 

Step Two

 

 

Wash the model with diluted Seraphim Sepia. I personally use tap water to accomplish this, but if you have a thinner or something go for it. You want the wash to flow into the recesses, as seen in the picture, as well as obviously tint the flesh. 

 

Step Three

 

 

Carefully wash the recesses with diluted Carroburg Crimson. I try to make it 2:1 water: wash, you don't want it too bold so that it takes over the model. As you can see in the picture, I've concentrated on areas like the eye socket, cheeks and top of the gut. I also make sure to get the joints like the elbow, hip, hands, and ankles / feet. With Plaguebearers, their spine is quite prevalent so I make sure to wash either side down into the buttocks.

 

Step Four

 

 

Repeat Step Three with heavily diluted Athonian Camoshade. This will add a more diseased look and when it overlaps some of the darker areas creates a very unique hue. It's okay to get some on the raised areas of the model as well, it's not as intrusive as the Crimson.

 

Step Five

 

 

Using diluted Druchii Violet, wash the joints, hollows of the cheeks and eye socket, and spine and butt crack. Try to be conservative with this wash, it can quickly overpower the model. I also add some to the bloated belly to give it a more bruised look. I've made sure to take pictures of the entire model so you can see how it looks overall and just to emphasis how important it is that you be conservative with this. As I said, Druchii Violet will definitely dominate the model if you're not careful. As you can see, the Violet adds a more bruised look and further defines the details while not overpowering the other washes. On this guy I added it to the ribs as well. You can see the spine has been well defined, as has his arse. The backs of his knees are particularly dark, which is fine. You can add the Violet to random boil clusters as well to make the area look infected. Throughout the various steps I've been careful to wash the recesses and areas where there would be significant decay or collected coagulated bodily fluid while keeping the overall model pale.

 

Step Six

 

 

LIGHTLY drybrush the model all over with Pallid Wych Flesh. The reason I say lightly is if you go too heavy, the paint will hide the wash and negate the work you've done thus far. You're trying to highlight the pale areas more as well as slightly cover the wash. What this will do is also give the impression that your washes are under the skin and give the impression of coagulated blood and other various ichor. Note that when Pallid Wych Flesh is drybrushed over the wash it actually brings out more color. The purple gives off hints of blue, the Camoshade becomes yellow in areas. Much like a real corpse, the model becomes a kaleidoscope of colors in perpetual decay.

 

Step Seven (Bless us, Grandfather)

 

 

In this final step, I bring a little color back into the model. Sometimes it just feels a little too chalky when leaving it at the last stage so using Carroburg Crimson I try to bring them back up a little, make it look a bit raw. Now I should say, you can do this final step with any wash you choose, which goes for any of the prior stages. You may not want to use purple or green so replace them with something more appropriate. These are only guidelines, make it your own. For the final step, I take a dab of undiluted Carroburg Crimson and add it somewhere central to the model. I usually start with the eye socket. From there, I dilute the brush with water and carefully spread the wash out to the other recesses. Into the cheeks, the brow, etc. Same goes for the joints, the collar bone, the spine, etc. Anywhere you feel you want to bring up a bit more color. I also swirl some on the belly to make it look irritated and infected. And that's it! Like I said, you can substitute any of the washes for a different look or skip steps for something unique. I personally have used Athonian Camoshade for the final step on some Poxwalkers to bring a little more variety to the horde and it works just fine. The last pics are just a 360 of the model so you get an idea of the final product.

 

I hope this helps and enjoy!

[Augustus b'Raass]

Thanks, Dusky!! This will come in handy!

 

A bit miffed I have to figure out how to prime with Corax, but alright. I'm a big boy...

[DuskRaider]

I have faith in you frater, you can do this!

 

Just a reminder but this is just the flesh, they obviously look a bit different when you add other detail such as boils, guts, horns etc. 

 

I have to see if the difference between these (my traditional scheme) and the 30 original Plaguebearers I painted are too drastic... if so they may be repainted, which is a HUGE bummer because the dude above is just one of 43 (including Heralds) I'm doing in a giant batch (with 20 more still unassembled). I'm starting to seriously regret the idea of a Plaguebearer horde...

[Augustus b'Raass]

Haha I just threw my 20 painted plaguebearers in StMarc to strip them. I don't mind though - with mostly washes and drybrushing they'll be donesoon enough! Good luck to you! :tu: